Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-01-06
A CURIOUS CARGO.
Nuts that Are Brought from South America
To Be Made Into ButtonS-The Fruit of a
Beautiful Palm

pier can be seen on any day ships and
shallops from far and near. 1t is an en-
pertaining spot to the searcher for infor-
nation. The ends of the earth through
these vessels are brought into proximity
to this city, and consequently to New
York and the busy world beyond. The
Empire stores from one of the largest of
the many warehousing establishments
IN Brooklyn, and the variety of goods
from tropical countries that are unload
ed there Is not to be surpassed even in
the New York storehouses. In fact brook
Ign has larger warehouses than New York
and very much of this sort of business
for that city Is done over here because
of the superiority of accommodations for
vessels and the cheaper rents.
A reporter wandered about the yha1yes
of the Empire stores the other dav.
around heaps of yellow Yucatan fustic
and pink Brazilian bar-wood, cords of
Bueuos Ayres hides and stacks of iuicy
cocoanuts, in pursuit of a story. He
found it at length on board of a hand
some brigantine, the West Wind, which
had just come in from South American
voyage Her matches were off and showed
that she was laden to the decks. both fore
and aft, with a cargo of little objects
what triangular form, and with dark
brown, rough surface. Tackling was
being rugged and men with large SCOOP
shovels were beginning to unload the curl
Gus freight.
'What are those things?" asked the re-
porter of a swarthy -complesioned man
whe was smoking Spanish Cigarette on
the ships poop.
Nuts, he replied senteDtiousIv
''Nuts?"
eyes, nuts; not chestnuts, either" aud
the man laughed.
''What kind are they?"
why, ivory nuts, to be sure Don't
you know what vegetable ivory is? It's
coming to be all the rage in this country.
Few people can tell articles made out of
1t from real ivory. Look at this" The
man held up nut that had been cracked
apart The brown skin was very thin,
and the interior was exceedingly hard
and as white and glossy as ivory. In
truth, it appeared to be animal ivory,
but its shape at once forbade entertain
ing the notion.
"Few names have ever been better APP
piled than vegetable ivory" continued
the swarthy man, as he lighted fresh
cigarette. cts one of the important
discoveries of commerce"
"WhaG is made of it,"
Everything that you make of ivory.
1t has revolutionized the ivory trade.
There are hundred dozen of buttons
made of it in this country TO- day where
one is made of real ivory, and the tur-
nars are working it up into cane and UNI
brella handles ard small trinkets so close
resembling true ivory that novice can't
tell the difference.
care many nuts imported?"
''Well, I should say yes. England takes
about five million of them every year and
America is a good second. Goodsized
fortunes have been made here off them,
and the trade is growing all the time.
They can be worked in all sorts of ways,
but they go mainly into buttons and
jewelry. Novel idea of buttons growing
on trees, eh?"
'Where do they grow?"
'On beautiful palm on the Andean
plains in Peru and that quarter of South
America. It's leaves are feathery tufts,
sometimes forty feet high. 1t bears a
fruit as large as a mans head. This fruit
is filed with nuts, and it is the kernels
of these nuts that you now see before
you. When green, they are soft Now
they are harder than marble. This but
ton-making business is sort of a new
departure. It has come up since | went
into the trade. Most of the importers
are interested in the button factories now
and in this way some Of them are making
big money. The factories are scattered
all over the eastern United States"
care the buttons made by hand?"
''Not much. We've got away past that.
It's beautiful as well as a complicated
work. I'll tell you something about the
process. In the first place the nuts are
stored in warm bins in the factories. AS
fast as wanted they are placed in racks
in the drying -rooms, where they are kept
from six to eight days, according to the
quantity of dampness In them. Usually
there are about four hundred pounds of
dampness to the ton. From provided
with teeth and tumbled for the purpose
OF removing their shucks They are
then removed to the main room where
bits of shucks remaining are carefully in
spected again and any little points of
shucks still remain are removed with a
knife. Then they are taken to the saw
yers, who cut off slaks from the outside
of the nuts varying in thickness and size
according to the kind of button desird.
the centers of the nuts being hollow can
not be utilized for button-making and
are burned. The sawed stock is taking
to the second drying room, where the re-
naming water is removed. When dry
the nuts are sorted into fifteen sizes and
placed in as many bins in the rear of the
lather. From the bins they are taken as
wanted by the turner's. After the but
tons are turned they are separated from
the dust and are taken to the girls, by
whom they are carefully sorted, and all
the imperfect buttons removed The
good ones are carried to the machines
for edging, and after the edges are taken
off they are secured in iron drums con-
tanning chalk and water. Aftor the Scour-
ing they are placed in racks and dried,
after which they are distributed in cases
of drawers, according to their sizes and
styles, They are taken from the drawers
as wanted to fill orders. After being
weighed for orders the buttons ore
drilled and the holes countersunk to
prevent the thread from being cut
Then they are placed on boards eighteen
inches square, for notching. Then they
are colered, the latter process often re-
quiring several repetitions. The nothing
is then removed and the bottoms are tum-
bled in wire drums In order to assist the
fms hing DrOceSS Thev ara pavt +oEraD